Turkey said Monday that it will allow Iraqi Kurdish fighters, known as Peshmerga, to cross its border with Syria to support those fighting against the Islamic State militants in the Syria's border town of Kobani.
The statement by Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu came hours after the United States airdropped arms to help the Kurdish fighters in Kobani. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said Sunday that his country would oppose any U.S. arms transfer to Kurdish forces that are fighting the Islamic State militants.
"We are helping Peshmerga forces to enter into Kobani to give support," Cavusoglu said at a news conference.
But, a Peshmerga spokesman said he had not received any order to move units to Syria.
"They have not given us any orders to move our units," said spokesman Halgurd Hekmat. "But we are waiting, and we are ready," he said, the Associated Press reports.
Turkey believes that the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the main Kurdish group fighting against the Islamic State, is "no different" than the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought against Turkey for 30 years and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and NATO.
However, the United States as well as the Kurds in both the countries blame Turkey for not doing any nothing while Kurds were being killed by the Islamic State militants.
Turkey's decision to permit Iraqi Kurdish fighters to cross its territory cannot be viewed as a complete policy turnaround, as it has permitted Peshmerga fighters from Iraq and not the PKK.
"Opening a passage for the Peshmerga creates the impression that Turkey has changed its stance, and is on board with the coalition against ISIS," said Halil M. Karaveli, an expert on Turkey and a senior fellow at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute in Stockholm, The New York Times reports.
Karaveli further said that the move actually serves Turkish interests, as the Peshmerga would counterbalance the Kurdish groups in Kobani that are inimical to Turkey.
